Valero Says Fire Extinguished at Indiana Ethanol Plant
A fire at an ethanol plant in southern Indiana was extinguished quickly on Monday, owner Valero Energy Corp told Reuters on Tuesday, and ethanol industry sources said the facility could be down for as long as a week. There were no injuries in the fire early on Monday at the 110 million-gallon-a-year plant in Mount Vernon, Valero spokesman Steven Lee said. He declined to elaborate on the facility's operations. A source familiar with the operations said the plant would be idled for at least a few days in order to repair a grain dryer where the fire occurred.
Valero Dips toes into Ethanol Export Market
Valero Energy Corp, one of the biggest U.S. oil refiners, is preparing to sell ethanol for export for the first time, the company said, betting on the $2 billion overseas market as U.S. demand remains plagued by political uncertainty. The San Antonio-based oil refiner, the third-largest U.S. ethanol producer, has recently been offering export-grade ethanol to shippers and leasing tank space for it at St. Rose, Louisiana, opening a gateway to major markets in Asia and Brazil, three U.S. trade sources said. For now, the material will be sold on a freight-on-board basis for shipment overseas, they said.
